Dominik Lenk
Sailing since the age of eight, I first read about the Transat 650 in a magazine and have been fascinated by this race ever since.
Born in Germany, I learnt how to sail Optimists near Berlin. At the age of twelve, I moved to Amsterdam, saved up for my own dinghy and was quickly introduced to racing.
After finishing the International Baccalaureate in the Netherlands, the University of Southampton was a natural choice: After all, the Solent literally lies beyond the doorstep.
Over the course of three years at University I discovered the English yachting-scene and decided to make the project Transat 650 a reality. Crewed and short-handed, inshore and offshore races—I have been counting the miles, collecting experience and building the network that is necessary for a project like this.
At the moment I am living in France making more contacts and looking for a suitable boat. Plans for this season include the double-handed French and UK Mini Fastnet, as well as the crewed ‘real’ Rolex Fastnet.
Starting this autumn, most of my time will be devoted to training, qualification races and getting to know the boat and the competition.
This will continue right up to the start of the Transat 6.50 in September 2013.
NKE Shorthanded Team
I am a member of the NKE Shorthanded Team in preparation for the 2013 Transat 650.
The team brings together the best of Dutch shorthanded sailing. Together with NKE Benelux, quality marine electronics supplier, the Shorthanded Foundation provides monthly training sessions, workshops and seminars on topics such as sleep, food, navigation or project management.
All members of the NKE Shorthanded Team will be trained by Transat veterans Lucas Schröder, Koen van Esch and Jelmer Bouw.